Broad money growth (M3)
M3 = Broad Money- How often
- Every fortnightFortnightly
- Next release
- Fri 13 NovTomorrow · expected · 5:00 PM
15 October 2026, down from 16.9% on 30 September 2026.
Events on this chart
Source: RBI, released 23 Oct 2026 · Chart: Clarity UPSC
- Previous
- 16.9%30 Sep 2026
- Highest
- 16.9%30 Sep 2026
- Lowest
- 14.2%15 Aug 2026
6 readings since 31 Jul 2026.
Story
How fast the money supply, mainly currency and bank deposits, is growing.
What is happening now As of 15 Oct 2026
Broad money (M3) grew 16.0% in the year to 15 October 2026, against 9.2% a year earlier, and reached ₹333.00 lakh crore. Time deposits with banks, the largest part, grew 17.1%; currency with the public grew 14.1% and demand deposits 10.7%. On the sources side, bank credit to the commercial sector grew 17.7%, while net bank credit to the government grew 8.7%. The figures are provisional.
When the Monetary Policy Committee raised the repo rate on 7 October 2026, it said that strong growth in money and credit was a risk of demand-driven inflation.
Why it matters
Broad money (M3) measures the money that people and firms hold to spend or save. When it grows much faster than the economy's output, more money chases the same goods, which can push prices up. When it grows slowly, spending and lending may be weak.
M3 also mirrors bank lending: when a bank makes a loan, the money lands as a deposit in someone's account, so credit growth adds to M3. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) no longer targets money growth, but its Monetary Policy Committee still reads money and credit together for signs of pressure on prices.
What it is
Broad money, or M3, is the money held by the public, mostly as bank deposits. It adds up currency with the public, demand deposits and time deposits with banks, and 'other' deposits with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The RBI publishes M3 in its Weekly Statistical Supplement, in the table "Money Stock: Components and Sources". The growth rate compares the stock on a reporting date with a year earlier. Since 15 December 2025 the data are for the 15th and the last day of each month.
The same table shows where the money comes from, including bank credit to the government and to the commercial sector. When banks lend, they add to deposits, so M3 usually moves with bank credit. Money that grows much faster than output can add to inflation.
Read this number
- The publisher
- The Reserve Bank of India is India's central bank. It manages money supply, bank regulation, the rupee and the country's foreign exchange reserves.
Terms on this page (2)
- CPI
- Consumer Price Index
- RBI
- Reserve Bank of India
History
- 1961The First Working Group on Money Supply of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) studies how money should be measured. A second group follows in 1977 and a third in 1998.
- 1985On the Chakravarty Committee's advice, the RBI adopts monetary targeting, with broad money as the intermediate target.
- Apr 1998The RBI moves to a multiple indicators approach; money growth becomes one indicator among many.
- 2016Flexible inflation targeting is adopted through an amendment to the RBI Act; Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation becomes the target.
- 15 Dec 2025Money supply data move to the 15th and the last day of each month.
Readings
| Period | Value | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2026 | 16.0% | Provisional | 23 Oct 2026 |
| 30 Sep 2026 | 16.9% | Provisional | 9 Oct 2026 |
| 15 Sep 2026 | 16.6% | Provisional | 25 Sep 2026 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 16.7% | Provisional | 11 Sep 2026 |
| 15 Aug 2026 | 14.2% | Provisional | 28 Aug 2026 |
| 31 Jul 2026 | 14.7% | Provisional | 14 Aug 2026 |
For UPSC
Know the measures: M1 is currency with the public, demand deposits with banks and 'other' deposits with the Reserve Bank of India; M3 is M1 plus time deposits with banks; M2 and M4 add post office savings deposits. The Reserve Bank targeted money growth from 1985, moved to multiple indicators in 1998 and to inflation targeting in 2016.